Beirut weighs formal options with Syria

BEIRUT, Lebanon, June 18 (UPI) -- Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour said Tuesday he was considering filing a formal complaint against Syria with the United Nations and Arab League.

Lebanon's national security has faced ongoing threats of spillover from the Syrian civil war. The Lebanese government said it is committed to a policy of neutrality in the conflict, though forces from the Shiite resistance movement Hezbollah are fighting in Syria alongside pro-government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad.

Mansour told The Daily Star newspaper in Lebanon he was mulling a presidential request to send a formal complaint against Syria to world organizations.

"I am still studying the matter from all its aspects," he told the newspaper.

Lebanon filed formal complaints at the United Nations against Israel for violating its airspace. A U.N. peace agreement ending war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2005 calls on the Shiite movement to disarm and reminds Israel of its obligation to respect Lebanese sovereignty.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman sent a letter Tuesday to U.N. special envoy for Lebanon Derek Plumbly complaining about the Syrian threat. The letter said there were violations of Lebanese territory "by all warring sides in Syria."

Syria had considerable influence over political affairs in Beirut before Lebanon's Cedar Revolution in 2005.

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